CAFÉ EN LA PLAYA. XTR’s Beach-Ready Honda Hornet Racer

“Make me a Cafe Racer”. It's undoubtedly the most fool-proof brief a bike builder can get. Jose Rosell from Spain's XTR Pepo probably had the bike designed in his head before the sentence had left his customer's mouth. But the next words to emerge would be akin to someone jamming a broom handle in your wheel at race speeds. “Also, I want to ride it on the beach,” the free-thinking owner added. And no, he wasn't kidding.

“It got serious with the tyres,” says Pepo. “The customer asked me to fit some Continental TKG 70s. When I asked why, he told me it was because he wanted to use the bike to go to the beach. As it was to be a cafe racer I questioned the choice, but he was quick to restate his original request. ‘As I said before, I want to ride the bike on the beach,’ he remarked. Okaaay then.